Hot Steel

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, merchandise, companies, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All characters in sexual situations are 18 years or older.

This follows "Cold Steel," though it's not necessary to read it first. I've enjoyed writing a story that's a bit more plot driven and would welcome your input on the emphasis on plot rather than sex.

"Chief wants to see you."

The booming baritone voice belonged to Lanny. He was my partner. Lanny was a loveable goofball - saved my life once and had an impressive scar on his right arm from a bullet wound to prove it. He playfully punched me in the shoulder as he continued down the hallway in the other direction. I learned from ten years on the force that when the Chief wanted to see me it was never good news. The last time he asked to see me I ended up on the pointy end of an investigation by Internal Affairs.

Ah yes, Internal Affairs. The proctologists of the police world. They had permission to crawl up your ass with a periscope. Even though I was cleared, the investigation put a cloud over my career for several months, and it certainly didn't help with my drinking issues. Let me rephrase that. My drinking problem. I was at least at the point that I recognized I had a serious drinking problem.

It's no easy task being a woman on a big city police force. I was able to tough it out for ten years, rising to the rank of Sergeant. It did cost me my marriage, but in the wreckage I did manage to meet Addie, the love of my life for the past year. But even that changed. Two weeks ago Addie accepted a position as an interior design intern in San Francisco, and that career change was going to take her about two thousand miles from me, not exactly conducive to a continuing relationship. She was a great kid (I was ten years older than her), and I encouraged her to pursue her dream. Little did I know that she would actually take my advice. Since I was living in her place, I was now back in my temporary housing in a motor lodge on the seedy side of town. Just me and my bottle of vodka.

But I digress. As I walked to the Chief's corner office I refocused on why he might want to see me. I was praying it wasn't Internal Affairs again. I didn't think I could make it through another investigation. There was plenty to find, and I didn't want anyone going through my dirty laundry again. The Chief's longtime administrative assistant, Audrey, stopped me before I knocked on the door. Audrey was a stout woman, barely five foot, with big breasts and an ample behind. Nobody fucked with her. It was common knowledge that the last unlucky soul to make her angry ended up in Traffic Enforcement, pretty much the Siberia of our profession. I'd made plenty of mistakes, but I wasn't going to make that one.

"Take a seat Max." She pointed to a well-used guest chair that was next to her desk. I glanced at her as I sat. She was wearing a floral print dress, showing ample cleavage. "Want some coffee while you wait?"

Now coffee was another pet peeve of mine. My ex-husband's family owned a coffee roastery business and I was spoiled by good coffee. Ordinarily I would have refused her kind invitation because the vile stuff they brewed at the station was better suited to taking the rust off my police cruiser bumper. However, given my imminent appearance before the big boss I thought the aroma of coffee would soothe my nerves.

"Sure," I replied, not at all confident in my decision.

Audrey hefted herself out of her chair and tugged on the strap of her bra. She must have been at least a DD, and her adjustment gave me an unexpected view of a broad swath of jiggly snow white titty flesh. It gave me a cheap thrill while I cooled my heels. I checked my uniform to make sure all my buttons were fastened and then used my hands to smooth back my hair. Even though I wouldn't call myself a beauty, I'm not half bad to look at when I'm cleaned up. Though my breasts aren't as big as Audrey's, they're big enough to create a distraction with the male members of the force. I remember the last time I was in the Chief's office I caught him stealing a glance at my chest.

Audrey came back and handed me a hot mug of coffee. "Black, right?"

She had the memory of a camel. It must have been at least six months since the last time she fetched me a cup of coffee. Another reason not to fuck with her.

"Thanks, Audrey," I said, remembering my manners.

I took a sip of the hot coffee. Not half bad. Maybe someone had brewed a fresh pot. I was enjoying my first sip when I saw a beautiful brunette with meticulously plaited hair and a perfectly pressed uniform knock on the Chief's door. Audrey glanced over to see who was passing into her fiefdom but didn't pay her any mind. Apparently she was expected. I took a more careful look and recognized her. Fucking Rachel Tompkins. She was on the Internal Affairs team that investigated me. At that time, she was fresh out of the academy. I said a couple things that I shouldn't have and drew her immediate scorn. My smart mouth striking again. Even though she was attractive, she was the last person on Earth that I wanted to see. She went inside the Chief's office and closed the door behind her.

"Know her?" Audrey asked.

You couldn't get anything past Audrey. She could see it in my eyes.

"Yeah, I know her," I said reluctantly.

Audrey paused for a moment, as if she was searching her memory banks. "Right ... right," she said, talking to herself. "She was on the IA team that investigated you."

Like I said, a camel. "Yes, that's right. The IA team that

cleared

me." I wanted to make sure that there was no misunderstanding about the outcome of that investigation.

Audrey straightened up in her chair. "No reason to get huffy. I remember what happened." She then relaxed back in her chair.

"Still with Addie?" There wasn't a single piece of gossip that escaped her ears. I still hadn't told anyone that Addie moved away. None of anyone's fucking business. But I couldn't duck Audrey's pointed question.

"No .. no ... not anymore." I went on to explain that Addie had been studying to be an interior designer and had gotten a hard to get internship with a well-known firm in San Francisco. As I was finishing up my explanation the Chief's door opened and Rachel poked her cute face out.

"You can come in now Max."

So we were now on a first name basis? It was the first time I wasn't Sergeant Pemberton to her. Maybe this wasn't going to be awful. I picked up my cup of coffee and carried it into the Chief's office.

You need to understand that there is a distinct pecking order on a police force. Chief James Cardwell was a thirty year veteran of the force, thrice decorated for bravery and beyond reproach. There were pictures of him receiving his medals that adorned the wall behind him, and his massive antique walnut desk added to the intimidation factor. Rachel had taken one of the guest chairs and I took the other. There was no question of who was in charge in that room.

"Max," he began, "I think you know Officer Tompkins." He looked at her and so did I.

That was of course a massive understatement. But I played along. "Yes, I've meet Officer Tompkins before."

"Officer Tompkins is going to be your new partner."

I felt like I had been hit by a bolt of lightning. What? My partner? What about Lanny? I'd spent the last year training him. He was just starting to get the hang of being a beat officer. And Rachel? I thought she hated me. Why in the devil would she be assigned as my partner?

I was obviously transparent in my thought process. Chief continued before I could open my mouth.

"You're probably wondering why the change. Lanny's been reassigned to Vice. He's showing good promise, thanks to you, and I wanted to see how he did in that department. Rachel wanted to get some line experience and requested you as her partner and mentor."

You probably could have pushed me over with a feather at that point. I was fully prepared for another investigation into my sorry life and instead was being assigned to mentor someone that I thought hated me. Goes to show you that you never know what's going to come down the line. I put my best smile on my face.

"That's great for Lanny." I decided to be magnanimous and turned my head to address my new partner. "Rachel, welcome to the team."

Chief smiled at my olive branch. "Glad to see that you hold no grudges. I told Rachel that you were one of our best officers at training new recruits and she was impressed by what she heard during her investigation."

Maybe I was dreaming. Was I actually being praised by the Chief? Were others on the force saying nice things about me? Inspired, I decided I was going to take the high road again.

"I'm flattered." I continued with my conciliatory posture. "And I welcome the opportunity to work with Rachel."

Rachel looked at me slightly amazed. She had seen my belligerent side as well. Did I say she was cute?

Chief looked at his watch. I'm sure he had something else he had to do, and this meeting seemed like it was over. He stood up. We did as well.

"Great, great. Looks like we're off to a good start here. Max, why don't you show her around the station. She'll begin with you bright and early tomorrow."

That was my cue to leave. I thanked him and left his office, Rachel right behind me. She closed the door. We walked silently past Audrey's prying eyes and into the break room. Fortunately no one else was in there.

"Rachel, why me?" I looked into her eyes, deep pools of emerald green.

She was expecting my question and wanted to put me at ease. "Just like the Chief said, I heard good things about you during the investigation and he praised you to the skies about the way you trained Lanny."

"Lanny's a good soul, and his heart is in the right place." I'd gotten attached to the goofball. I spent a lot of time with him during his rehab from his bullet wound, and I was going to miss him. I was happy for his promotion, but not really looking forward to training Miss Prim and Proper on the hard realities of the streets.

* * *

We just finished a quick tour of the station. Lots of leers from the males on the force. I was used to the guys staring at my tits, but it was a new feeling to see that most, if not all, of the attention was being directed to my new partner. She was young and beautiful and had absolutely no business being in this shithole with a bunch of horny guys with raging hormones. Was I jealous? Maybe. Even though I had no interest in hooking up with a guy again, it did salve my ego to get attention, even if it was laced with heavy sexual overtones.

Rachel seemed to handle it well. She didn't get distracted. She was probably used to a lot of second looks. Pretty face and a Barbie-esque body with nice tits and a narrow waist. I'm sure it sucked to be her. I guess I was jealous, but I was sure I'd get over that quickly.

We went into the break room for a quick chat before I sent her on her way for the day. More paperwork waiting for her in HR to finalize the transfer. I did a quick clean of the coffee maker and brewed a fresh pot. I handed Rachel a large steaming mug and poured one for myself. We pulled up plastic chairs to sit at a heavily marred Formica topped table.

"It's not Disneyland here Rachel. What the fuck are you doing, giving up a cushy job in IA to hang out with a bunch of losers like us? You're obviously young and attractive. That's going to be a liability out there."

She took a sip of her black coffee and then looked me in the eye. "I didn't come here to be babied. I can take of myself. I don't think I can be an effective police officer without being out there ... seeing it for myself. I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

She came across as sincere. I believed her. But in the same way a lamb exhibits curiosity at what goes on inside a slaughterhouse. I wanted to go on the record with my objections, even though I was sure she had heard it many times before.

"There is no blue line between us and the bad guys. Everything out in the real world is in shades of grey. I pulled out my Beretta and flashed it in front of her, then set it on the table. She looked at my service revolver. "This is the only thing protecting us from them. Don't forget it."

* * *

I sat at the small round top in my room, the shades drawn shut, and nursed my drink. I was lonely. Addie was gone, and now I was struggling to remember what she looked like. I pulled out my phone and retrieved a selfie I took with her on the day that she left. I ignored my face, and my fake pasted on smile, and focused on her. So young, a face filled with promise for the future. A future without me. I took another sip of my vodka and placed the phone face down on the table. The cycle of drinking and self-pity was threatening to consume me again.

Ever since Addie left a few weeks ago I'd returned to the funk I was in before I met her. Old habits die hard. Even though I controlled my drinking when I was with her, my demons were merely contained, but not exorcised. Without her as my ballast, I fell off the wagon hard, and the only comfort I could find was at the bottom of a bottle.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a wicked hangover. I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, hoping that small act of contrition would make up for a hard night of drinking. I looked over at the dresser, and saw that I had downed half a handle of cheap vodka that night.

I wanted to go back to sleep, and thought that one way I might have a chance of that was to masturbate. I grabbed the vodka bottle, and against my better judgment, took a swig out of it, rinsing my freshly brushed teeth. I felt the customary burn, then warmth, and went for another. I flipped open my laptop and retrieved the video I hadn't finished watching. It was a lesbian rimming video between an older, mature woman with large breasts and a younger woman, an attractive brunette.

I started imagining the older woman was me, and that the younger woman was Rachel. I watched the older woman, her pendulous breasts hanging low and full, giving a playful nip to the tight bottom of the kneeling brunette. The younger women yelped in mock pain as my doppelganger parted her firm cheeks and then slowly circled her anus with the tip of her tongue, leaving a wet trail in its wake. I first pinched my nipples to make them hard as little pebbles, wet my fingers, then parted the thicket of hair and the lips of my pussy. I was already getting moist from hearing the brunette's moans and pleas to continue licking her ass, and as the younger woman used her own hand to massage her pussy I began to move to my own head splitting orgasm.

The tables turned as the older woman laid on her side and moved her top knee in front of the other, granting Rachel's twin easy access to her nether hole. She parted the fleshy folds of the mature woman, exposing her puckered hole and some wisps of hair from her pussy. She pushed her tongue deep into her lover's asshole. I grunted as my video counterpart started screaming, pinching my clit and sending me into heaven and then the bliss of a hazy alcohol induced sleep.

* * *

It was 7 a.m., and both Rachel and I were in the locker room getting dressed. She was only two lockers away from me, so I started my indoctrination straight away.

"Here, you will answer to 'rookie' and 'boot.'" You have to earn your stripes in the field. No one gives a shit that you graduated first in your class in the academy or that you did a stint in IA. Out here you're just a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. Got it?"

"Yes, Sergeant."

"And drop the Sergeant crap. I'm Max."

"Yes, Max."

"It's going to be rough out there. And by that I mean the morning briefing. The goons out there that purport to be your fellow officers can be as mean spirited and foul mouthed as the lowlifes out there on the streets. Just keep your head up and your mouth shut. Got it?"

"Got it Max."

I'm sure she didn't get it. But the floodgates would soon open, as well as her eyes.

We walked into the room reserved for the morning briefing. There were desks arranged in neat rows like a high school classroom. All eyes in the room followed Rachel as she took a seat beside me. Her uniform was perfectly pressed and she of course looked like a Hollywood actress impersonating a police officer. Even her make-up (I wasn't wearing any) looked professionally applied. I could sense a sexual tension that usually wasn't present at this gathering.

Chuck Hightower was sitting next to use. He graduated in my academy class, and was a first class asshole. He called out in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "Hey Max, got another cutie?"

I hated his pasty white face, puffy from years of overeating, as I watched his eyes rake over my partner. Rachel shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Chuck gave her the once over. She sat ramrod straight and kept her eyes straight ahead, trying not making eye contact with him, or anyone else in the room.

The room quieted as Chuck let out his next ill-advised insult. "Upgrade from the bitch ass whore you rescued? Is cutie pie a lezzie like you?"

I had to nip this kind of abuse in the bud. He was testing me. I got out of my seat and stood over Chuck. I'm about 5'9", about the same height as our tormentor, but years in the exercise room gave me a hard body. Chuck had a pot belly, and his years catching bad guys on foot were far in the past. I was certain I could pound him to a pulp.

I lowered my head so our faces were inches apart. The smell of his cheap aftershave made me want to puke. "Listen you fucking dickhead. Chief assigned Rachel to me as my new partner. We're going to go out in the parking lot after this briefing so that everyone here can watch me open a can of whoop ass on your bloated carcass."

The gauntlet was thrown down and he didn't appear eager to pick it up. He realized that he had stepped out of bounds and that I had the solid punch to back up my threat. He held up his hands. "No offense Max. Just having some fun. Seems like you've lost your sense of humor."

Even in retreat, his comments made my blood boil. I grabbed him by the collar and was about to pull him out of his desk and give him a taste of my fist. The captain walked in just as my hand gripped his collar.

"Is there a problem here?"

It was Chuck who weaseled out of the situation. I had a mind to tell the Captain exactly what transpired.

"No Cap. Officer Pemberton was just helping me straighten my tie." I let go of his collar and he finished adjusting his tie.

"Good. We need to be focused today. First, I wanted to tell everybody that Officer Woodford (that was my partner Lanny) was transferred to Vice. Officer Tompkins is going to be Max's new partner. Questions?"

Cap quickly scanned the room, and seeing no hands raised moved on.

"Vice is going to be running an operation in sector 19. We're going to provide back-up. Max?"

"Yes Cap," I answered.

"That's your sector today. You speak with Lieutenant Lewis before you go out on patrol."

Cap went through the balance of the briefing, spouting statistics that would be in his next report, and the assignments for the day. He was obviously wise to Chuck and his smart mouth. He had to have known that we were about to have a tiff. Just as everyone was rising out of their seats to get on with the day, Cap raised his voice above the din of the room.

"One more thing." The room quieted immediately. "I want you to know that Chief made the assignment of Officer Tompkins to our team. I don't want to hear any bullshit happening behind my back." He slammed shut his book containing the duty roster and stared directly at Officer Hightower. "So don't try me on this one."